TaleMonster Video games, an Istanbul studio based by Peak Video games veterans on a mission to deliver depth and creativity again to informal puzzle video games, has raised $7 million in funding.
The funding will speed up improvement of the staff’s first titles — together with the match-3 sport Match Valley — and help continued funding within the artistic and technical foundations for a brand new era of informal puzzle video games.
Common Catalyst led the spherical, alongside investments from A16z Speedrun, Arcadia, and Ludus Ventures.
Irem Sumer, CEO of TaleMonster mentioned in an interview with GamesBeat that TaleMonster was born from a easy concept: Right now’s gamers have leveled up, and it’s time for his or her video games to do the identical.
Match Valley is a well-liked new sport from TaleMonster Video games.
“We have been working together for the last six years,” Sumer mentioned. “We all know each other from Peak Games. We have multidisciplinary expertise across both artistic and technical disciplines, and after five years at Peak, we decided to leave our jobs finally and start our own company.”
Sumer mentioned lots of the cell gamers have been enjoying the identical cell video games for nearly a decade, they usually developed severe gaming abilities throughout that point. However Sumer and her staff believes that in this time, the definition of informal players has modified. Whereas match-3 video games are informal of their nature, gamers can develop abilities enjoying them and develop into extra like hardcore players.
She mentioned these gamers “deserve games that respect their time, their skills and their attention. So we want to be the company that redefines what this means in mobile gaming. That’s why we started TaleMonster Games.”
The founding staff brings deep expertise from a few of the most profitable video games within the area, together with titles constructed at Peak Video games, the seminal Türkiye-based cell sport maker which was acquired by Zynga for $1.8 billion in 2020.
TaleMonster Video games has raised $7 million.
“We’re a multidisciplinary founding team united by a shared obsession with product and a deep love for games,” mentioned Sumer. “We started TaleMonster because we saw something missing in the games we loved. Casual games have become too predictable, too optimized, and not enough fun. We believe players deserve better: games that surprise, challenge, and evolve with them.”
The TaleMonster staff began with 5 cofounders together with Sumer, Simay Kahraman, Berk Yasar, Emre Yanik, and Eren Saricicek. The very fact there are two girls among the many founders makes the corporate comparatively uncommon within the sport business — as latest enterprise capital stats present.
has years of expertise constructing and scaling hit puzzle video games, with a confirmed observe file in crafting high-quality merchandise finish to finish. With deep roots in each artistic and technical disciplines, TaleMonster is constructed to maneuver quick, execute with care, and ship video games that final.
This seed spherical will assist TaleMonster scale its imaginative and prescient: constructing wealthy, evergreen puzzle video games that develop with their gamers. They plan to broaden the staff, speed up improvement, and proceed investing in reusable programs that help smarter sport design, customized experiences, and environment friendly content material supply to launch sooner, study faster, and construct a portfolio of video games that gamers can return to over time.
TaleMonster Video games staff members have labored at locations like Peak Video games.
“Mobile players have changed. They’ve grown sharper, more curious, and a lot harder to impress. They can tell when a game is built with care and when it’s not,” mentioned Sumer. “We want every game we build to feel like it respects your time, your attention, and your skill.”
In a market the place hundreds of video games launch every year and most are forgotten inside months, TaleMonster is taking a special path. Their focus isn’t simply on launching a single hit, however on constructing a staff of passionate, curious individuals who can create a number of standout titles over time.
By creating an atmosphere the place nice expertise can thrive, the studio goals to develop not solely video games that final, however a tradition that lasts simply as lengthy. Their first title, Match Valley, proves they’re heading in the right direction, with gamers spending a mean of 52 minutes within the sport every day.
“We’re building a team that grows with every title we release; sharp, curious, and unafraid to experiment. With this funding, we can go faster, think bigger, and keep raising the bar for what casual games can be.”
“At General Catalyst, we have a long-standing history of investing in gaming with Discord, Superplay, Brain Games and others,” mentioned Zeynep Yavuz, associate at Common Catalyst, in a message to GamesBeat. “With our investment in Talemonsters, we’re backing a team with deep experience and a fresh vision for casual games—at a time when many have become overly optimized and commoditized. Talemonsters is on a mission to bring back the fun with unexpected twists, evolving gameplay, and challenges that grow with the player.”
Origins
TaleMonster Video games is the most recent sport firm in Türkiye to lift cash.
The staff began in February 2024, they usually launched their first sport Match Valley in September. They’ve been updating the sport and have began progress advertising and marketing previously couple of months. The sport presently has 50% day one retention, which means 50% of gamers come again after the primary day. They play a mean of 52 minutes per day. For cell video games, these are nice numbers, and it explains why the corporate has been capable of increase some huge cash.
Whereas match-3 is a crowded style, Sumer mentioned that folks will doubtless agree that the core mechanics of her firm’s sport are distinctive. The title combines match-3 with tower protection mechanics.
By way of inspiration, Sumer mentioned, “We always knew that we wanted to do something new. We wanted to surprise players. We played hundreds of games over the course of months after we left our jobs.”
The corporate has 17 folks unfold throughout a number of cities. By subsequent 12 months, Sumer hopes the workers might be doubled.
Lots of the firm’s workers come from Peak Video games however Türkiye has a lot of sport design applications at universities turning out proficient sport builders at a daily cadence — because of the success of Peak Video games, in keeping with startups.watch knowledge. There are 1,095 sport startups in Türkiye.
Startups.watch knowledge reveals Turkiye has a powerful gaming ecosystem.
“When you graduate from the university, and when you are a top talent, gaming is a really strong career path ahead of you, the family will support that,” Sumer mentioned.
Cellular gaming has had challenges within the wake of Apple’s determination just a few years in the past to prioritize consumer privateness over focused adverts. However Sumer is pleased with how Türkiye’s sport firms have handled the adjustments and nonetheless managed to develop their companies.
“In Türkiye, we are quite optimistic,” she mentioned. “Everyone’s striving to define the next genre and bring opportunities to market.”
GB Each day
An error occured.
